Treaty of Waitangi Act 1975

6AA: Limitation of Tribunal's jurisdiction in relation to historical Treaty claims

You could also call this:

"Rules about when Māori can't make old Treaty claims"

If you are Maori, you cannot submit a claim to the Tribunal that is about something that happened a long time ago, called a historical Treaty claim, after 1 September 2008. You also cannot change a claim you already submitted to include a historical Treaty claim if it was not already part of the claim. The Tribunal is not allowed to look into historical Treaty claims that are submitted or changed after 1 September 2008 in a way that is not allowed. If you try to submit a claim after 1 September 2008 that you are not allowed to submit, it will be treated as if it was never submitted, and this applies to all parts of the process, including sections like section 8A(2), 8C(1), 8HB(1), 8HD(1), and 8HJ. However, if you submitted a historical Treaty claim on or before 1 September 2008, you can still change it after that date.

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This page was last updated on 26 May 2025

View the original legislation for this page at https://legislation.govt.nz/act/public/1986/0120/latest/link.aspx?id=DLM435534.

Topics:

Māori affairs > Treaty of Waitangi

6: Jurisdiction of Tribunal to consider claims, or

"The Tribunal can help Māori with unfair claims about the Treaty of Waitangi"

6A: Power of Tribunal to state case for Maori Appellate Court or Maori Land Court, or

"The Tribunal can ask special courts for help to make fair decisions about Maori land and customs."

6AALimitation of Tribunal's jurisdiction in relation to historical Treaty claims

Despite section 6(1), after 1 September 2008 no Maori may—
submit a claim to the Tribunal that is, or includes, a historical Treaty claim; or
amend a claim already submitted to the Tribunal that is not, or does not include, a historical Treaty claim by including a historical Treaty claim.

However, subsection (1) does not prevent a historical Treaty claim submitted to the Tribunal on or before 1 September 2008 from being amended in any way after 1 September 2008.
The Tribunal does not have jurisdiction (including, but not limited to, the jurisdiction to inquire or further inquire into, or to make any finding or recommendation) in respect of a historical Treaty claim that is—
submitted contrary to subsection (1)(a); or
included in a claim contrary to subsection (1)(b).

To avoid doubt, if a claim is submitted to the Tribunal contrary to subsection (1), it must be treated for all purposes (including, for example, for the purposes of sections 8A(2), 8C(1), 8HB(1), 8HD(1), and 8HJ) as not having been submitted.

Notes

Section 6AA: inserted, on 13 December 2006, by section 6 of the Treaty of Waitangi Amendment Act 2006 (2006 No 77).